It is easy to spot.
The grass is crispy brown. Backyard weeds peek over the top of a 6-foot-tall fence. The trees are dead and swarming with insects. Fading notices are duct taped to the broken garage door and to the front door. Old newspapers and a sack of phonebooks sit on the sagging porch. It is the foreclosure next door — a symbol of pain and sadness and a harbinger of property values dropping.
Gaynell Instefjord is a real estate agent working in foreclosures. Instefjord shows how the kitchen cupboards were stripped from a foreclosed home by the previous owner of a home in Midvale.Gaynell Instefjord has seen it all. For more than a dozen years the associate broker at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Sandy, Utah has worked selling foreclosed houses for several bank clients. In the best of circumstances, she says, it is a long process.
But it isn’t the best of circumstances right now. In Utah, where Instefjord works, foreclosures totaled 6,567 during the third quarter, ranking the state in 6th place for the most filings. Foreclosures fell 39 percent from the previous year. Nationwide, foreclosure filings fell 38 percent to 214,855 in September.
This means that few people don't have a foreclosed or abandoned home in their neighborhood. There are things that neighbors can do, however, to preserve property values and maybe even get the home sold.
The Process
The process to foreclose takes time. The bank has to wait for three consecutive missed payments before it can issue a notice of default. Then another three months go by to give the homeowner a chance to fix the problem. The bank then files a notice of trustee sale. About 30 days later the trustee sale occurs and the foreclosure is complete. In all, it's a seven-month process. "That's the quickest it can happen," Instefjord says. "The process is dictated by the trust deed and note the borrower signed when purchasing the property."
But it doesn't have to go that fast.
Some banks, particularly with the high number of defaults these days, may wait for more than 12 months of missed payments before starting the process.
This means the bank is not the owner of the abandoned home until it is foreclosed. It can't keep weeds down and secure the property against vandalism. It can't board up broken windows and tarp a leaky roof to protect the house against further damage.
"Neighbors get upset that the house sits and looks bad and they wonder why somebody doesn't do anything about it," Instefjord says. "The reality is as long as the consumer owns the property, the bank can't do anything to it at all."
Behind Foreclosed Doors
Kitchen cabinets are torn down. Sinks and bathtubs are taken out. The baseboards are ripped out. Heating elements are removed from water heaters. Bleach is poured on carpets. Some people are not happy about losing their home.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
The foreclosure next door: saving your neighborhood | Deseret News
Thursday, October 13, 2011
CNN Money ranks Logan No. 22 in nation for jobs - USU Statesman - Utah State University
Cache County was recently listed as the 22nd best place in the U.S. to find a job, according to a a piece published in CNN Money.
In truth, however, the local job market is only slightly less dismal than the rest of the country, said economics Professor Randy T. Simmons.
"CNN is just looking at U.S. Census numbers," Simmons said. "Yes, there are more jobs here in 2010 than there were in 2000, but there are also more people."
According to Utah's Department of Workforce Services, jobs may have increased in Utah, but unemployment has as well. The state average was around three percent in 2000 but is closer to eight percent today. Cache County hovers just below the state average at about five percent.
The CNN article lists the Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) initiative as one of the key components in local job growth. According to Simmons, however, USTAR is not one of the major employers in Cache Valley. CNN also listed employers not in the county as critical to job growth here.
"CNN got some of their information confused," said Jacoba M. Poppleton, USTAR public relations specialist. "The Bingham Entrepreneurship and Energy Research Center is actually in Vernal, not in Logan."
CNN also listed Utah County as the eighth best area for "where the jobs are," yet Utah County's unemployment rate is currently at 7.5 percent — higher than Cache County, according to the UDWS.
"CNN's analysis is very superficial," Simmons said.
The Unpromising Job Market
The job market in Logan is in a sad state of affairs, but it's better off than the rest of the nation, said James Feigenbaum, assistant professor of economics.
"Cache Valley — and Utah — seem to be in a better spot than, say, California or New York," he said. "In a lot of states there have been promises to public employees to grant huge pensions, and Utah does not have such an overpaid public sector. Looking forward, I'd say Utah is slightly better off."
The local capitalist spirit and the young, optimistic students who are eager to work seem to offset the recession slightly, Feigenbaum said.
The more free market approach to business regulation also helps keep the local economy above the water line, Simmons said.
"The cost of government here is low compared to other places. The local government tends to stay out of business, rather than picking winners and losers as they do elsewhere," Simmons said. "Utah's ranked No. 1 or No. 2 economically, and I think it's because we have limited but effective government involvement."
Despite Cache Valley being better off than other places, we are far from trouble free, Simmons said.
"Officially the recession bottomed in 2009, but we haven't had much recovery since then — it's far from over," he said. "I am the former mayor of Providence, and I can tell you that for realtors, builders and everyone else it's been a tough three years. The only homes that are selling are in the low-end market."
Statewide, Utah had one foreclosure for every 450 properties, said economics and finance Professor Benjamin Blau. Cache County only had one foreclosure for every 1,056 properties.
"We face greater uncertainty now than we have since the Great Depression," Feigenbaum said, "It's not just part of the business cycle. It's a demographic shift. There are more old people, and there is going to be a painful transition in the near future."
There have been many layoffs in Cache County since 2008, according to Simmons, who said ATK, Malt-O-Meal and Autoliv all recently made cuts. However, he said, the area did not crash quite as hard as other areas because of less government intervention and business diversity.
"We have a broad academic and industrial base," Feigenbaum said. "The university employs a lot of people, but we also have a more varied set of businesses and industries than most college towns this size."
Seeking Help
Director of the Cache Community Food Pantry Matt Whitaker said more people in Cache Country are requesting aid than ever before.
"I chuckle when I hear politicians say the recession is over," Whittaker said. "The number of people coming (to the food pantry) has been trickling higher and higher."
Wayne Jolley, a Logan resident, is one of those who depends on the food pantry for survival.
"Without their help I wouldn't have any way to get dinner for my family," he said. He said he is a father of five.
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Wednesday, October 12, 2011
I wouldn't have believed it if I didnt see it with my own eyes
Ok lets play a game.... as I was showing houses tonight I found this and would not have believed it if I didnt see it for myself
Wow is this?
- Could it be a Laundry Chute
- Spice Rack for Midgets
- Newspaper Recycler
NO NO AND NO!!!
A Built in Shoe Shiner in the hallway just outside the master Bedroom HUMMMMMM
And to boot in the same home a toliet paper holder with a SIREN!!! just not sure why you would need the SIREN
Thursday, September 29, 2011
HotPads: Smarter Map-Based Search for Homes, Foreclosures, Rentals, and Hotels
Name: HotPads.com
Quick Pitch: HotPads is a map-based housing search engine. Housing shoppers can find long term rentals, homes for sale, vacation homes, and hotels on our map-based search.
Genius Idea: If you’re in the market for a new home, vacation property, or rental, you can turn to Craigslist, iList, or dozens of other online classifieds sites to help you in your search. But, most of these options aren’t tailored to the best search experience for your housing-related needs. HotPads, however, keeps it simple with interactive map-based search results for everything from apartments to hotels and even recently foreclosed homes.
If you can get past the off-putting name, you’ll find that HotPads provides an enjoyable search experience for housing and hotels. You can quickly search the map, find centers of housing activity, view listing details without leaving the map, and narrow search results by type, price range, or points of interest. With more than 300,000 rentals, 3,000,000 homes for sale, and a myriad of vacation and hotel listings, HotPads has got the entire residential and commercial landscape covered.
Some great features of the site’s map-based approach to housing include the ability to zoom into precise locations for a better view of nearby venues and hot pads, demographic heat map overlays for info on population density and median rent prices, street, arial, or hybrid views, and advanced search options to find detailed info on mortgage terms and down payments.
We’re sold on the site and think it could prove to be a time-saving resource for finding and researching your next big move or out of town stay.
Check out before you go out!!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Interest Rates for Utah House under 4% WHAT---SHUT THE FRONT DOOR
There is never a better time then now to purchase your new first home.or if you have not owned a home in the past 3 year you could qualify for this great program. Call me today for all the details Lori Fleming Century 21 Golden Spike 801-940-9560
Interest Rates for Utah House under 4% WHAT---SHUT THE FRONT DOOR
There is never a better time then now to purchase your new first home.or if you have not owned a home in the past 3 year you could qualify for this great program. Call me today for all the details Lori Fleming Century 21 Golden Spike 801-940-9560
Interest Rates for Utah House under 4% WHAT---SHUT THE FRONT DOOR
There is never a better time then now to purchase your new first home.or if you have not owned a home in the past 3 year you could qualify for this great program. Call me today for all the details Lori Fleming Century 21 Golden Spike 801-940-9560
Thursday, September 1, 2011
How We'll Live in 2020 | Apartment Therapy New York
Working at Apartment Therapy, my email inbox could be compared to Grand Central - very busy, lots of arrivals and departures and definitely full of interesting characters. I never know what will arrive next. Yesterday evening brought something out of the ordinary that I thought you all would be interested in. 2000 members of the IFDA (International Furnishings and Design Association) took part in a once-a-decade survey all about how home life in America will change between now and 2020. Check it out and see if you agree with the design industry professional's predictions...
Well people really live like this in 2020
The Widening Gap between New and Existing Home Prices : Economists' Outlook
The Widening Gap between New and Existing Home Prices
September 1, 2011 by Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist & Senior Vice President, Research · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Existing Home Sales, Home Buyers, Home Price Measures, Home Sellers, Housing Market, New Home SalesThe price of newly constructed homes refuses to budge downwards. After hitting the cyclical low of $204,000 in October of 2010, the typical transaction price of new homes has been around $220,000. In July, the median sold price of a new home was $222,000. Though construction workers’ wages have not changed in the past four years (stuck at $38 per hour on average), the costs of construction materials have been rising. As a result, homebuilders simply cannot lower the price without suffering a financial loss. That is, it is better not to build than to build and then have to slash the price.
Meanwhile, existing home prices have to respond to supply and demand pressures, and supply has so far had a better hand. As a result, lowering the price was the only option for many homeowners, other than pulling the home out of the market completely.
Due to the stubbornly high new home prices and lower existing home prices, the gap between the two has opened up. From consumers’ point of view, therefore, existing homes offer an increasingly better value. Because of this, we should expect new home sales to lag behind in the recovery as compared to existing home sales.
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Tags: Economist Commentaries
This is crazy if only the supplier could see that by keeping supply for new construction so high they are effecting the ability of the builders to build
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Top Sunset, Utah Real Estate Agent Lori Fleming
Home page > blog > Top Sunset, Utah Real Estate Agent Lori Fleming
Top Sunset, Utah Real Estate Agent Lori Fleming
by Brandon Barker on Apr 29, 2011
According to census figures, more Americans are moving to places with affordable housing and “low-density urban cores.” Family-friendly Northern Utah is such a place. According to a recent article in the Deseret News, the Salt Lake City area has recently witnessed a population boom. During the last decade the Provo-Orem area increased its population by 39.8 percent, the Salt Lake City area grew by 16 percent, and the Ogden-Clearfield area grew by 23.6 percent — a surge that has as much to do with the beauty of the surrounding as it does with the area’s business-friendly nature.
However, during the recent recession, Northern Utah has seen its share of unemployment and troubling housing vacancy rates. It’s still a wonderful place for a real estate agent to thrive, but the competition to acquire listings and represent buyers means that area real estate agents have to self-market and self-promote.
Several weeks ago, we launched a new series spotlighting real estate agents who are compiling bona fide customer reviews in their ReachFactor profile pages. This week, we highlight Lori Fleming, a Century 21 agent in Sunset, Utah. One of the most remarkable things about Ms. Fleming, aside from the excellent feedback she’s received from her clients, is the way she uses technology and social media tools to market her business and provide the best service to her customers.
For example, Lori Fleming’s Facebook page features her credentials, listings, her Reachfactor reviews and the blog posts she contributes to other web sites. Her clients believe this makes her one of the more reachable, knowledgeable and personable agents in the area. Here are a few quotes from her more than a dozen client reviews:
“She was always on top of it! Weekly phone calls, emails, texts, everything! She always kept us informed and reassured us that she WOULD sell our home!!”
“She was honest and I knew she was going to work for us. She communicated promptly over phone and email. She didn’t want to just sell us a house, but she wanted to find a home that would match our family needs, lifestyle and price point. She knew the best areas in the local market and gave us valuable advice.”
“Lori helped us sell our home. It sold in 3 Days!!! We did some staging and followed some advice from Lori on prep work and selling price. Her on-line 3D virtual home was a big plus.”
If you’re looking for a real estate agent in Salt Lake and surrounding communities, we recommend contacting Lori Fleming.
Agents confront a world that is (at times) skeptical or confused about what value an agent brings to the table in a real estate transaction. ReachFactor is a 3rd party service that thousands of real estate agents use to conduct client surveys, collect feedback, and improve service levels.
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